With performers seemingly pulling out left and right from Donald Trump’s planned “Great American State Fair” on the National Mall to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, the president’s team has been left to salvage his latest effort to turn D.C. into America’s showroom.
At least, that’s how it seemed as Doug Burgum, the secretary of the Interior, was pressed Sunday on the specifics of the celebration itself including whether it will represent another way for Trump’s allies in business and other sectors to donate vast sums of money without going through transparency measures.
Burgum was questioned on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday and couldn’t answer whether the administration would make the donations for the event public.
“There are questions, from Democrats, about where this private funding is coming from, and it’s not transparent. Do you think that should be opened up to the public?” asked CNN’s Dana Bash.
The Interior secretary dodged the question, instead calling Trump more “transparent” than any CEO, claiming that his frequent press availabilities proved this notion. But Bash pressed him again, first eliciting a claim that such a question was “up to” the leadership of the Freedom 250 organization created to run the 250th celebration.
When Bash pointed out that he was one of those leaders, he demurred again.
“The Freedom 250 organization is run out of the White House,” Burgum said.
“It’s not about the transparency of the donors,” Burgum sputtered, before telling Bash “it’s about Americans celebrating the 250th anniversary.”
Burgum’s main purpose in the interview was to battle the perception of the event being a partisan celebration, one put on by a Republican White House and largely ignored by Democrats and Trump’s critics — the same reputation that eventually surrounded his plans for a military-style parade, which Washington D.C. hosted at his behest last year and was only sparsely attended.
Much of Trump’s focus has been spent on beautifying the grounds and buildings of the capital in his second term, and officials including Burgum were on scene for the re-opening of the fountain outside of Union Station on Capitol Hill last week. Other measures have been launched across the city to clean up parks, repair fountains and other infrastructure, and even cover the reflection pool of the Lincoln Memorial in an ocean-blue coating.
The Freedom 250 celebration is the president’s largest endeavor in this space yet. It’s set to feature a UFC match hosted from an arena built outside of the White House as well as the Great American State Fair, described online as “a celebration that will transform the National Mall with state and territory pavilions celebrating all 56 states and territories, specialty exhibits, live performances, interactive experiences, and classic fair attractions.”
But the president has been unable to separate his political rhetoric and agenda from the cause. The proximity of the event’s organizers to the president and Trump’s own involvement in the efforts to transform D.C. have left a shadow hanging over the event which in recent days has led to several musical acts cancelling plans to perform at a concert as part of the celebration. Milli Vanilli, one of the headlining acts, also clarified that the band’s original members would not take part.
Separately on Sunday a spokesperson for the Freedom 250 organization told The Hill: “It is inherently nonpolitical. It is a celebration of our country…I don’t think there’s anything partisan about America being around for 250 years.”
Burgum was asked by Bash about the partisan nature of the event, and the Interior secretary disagreed that participation in the event would be taken by Americans as support for the president.
Claiming that “some musicians have segmented their audiences the way politicians have”, Burgum appeared to blame the departing musical acts for not wanting to play for Republicans.
“Freedom 250, the celebration of the 250 is a nonpartisan event,” Burgum claimed of the White House-run organization and the event itself. He argued that the musical acts were getting bad information about the event’s supposed political bent.
But Bash pressed him on whether the event was truly separated from the White House, noting that the president “called it a ‘Make America Great Again rally,’ which is the name of his political organization”.
“Well, it is, but that’s something I think we all can certainly understand,” said Burgum, not explaining how this usage was nonpartisan.
His struggle to explain the White House’s intentions and to convince Americans that the president is capable of removing politics from the situation comes as Trump is now slated to headline the opening ceremony for the Freedom 250 organization while taking jabs on social media at “third-rate” performers who withdrew their names from the program.
“Cancel it,” he wrote Saturday on Truth Social. “We should have a giant MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN RALLY, for 250, instead of having overpriced singers, who nobody wants to hear, whose music is boring, and yet who do nothing but complain.”
